This invention relates to firearm ammunition, and more particularly to expanding bullets.
Firearms ammunition for self defense has traditionally employed hollow point bullets, which expand upon striking tissue. In contrast to round-nosed or ball ammunition, the expansion generates a larger wound that is more likely to rapidly incapacitate an assailant to terminate an assault. The expansion also slows the bullet more rapidly, so that it does not exit the assailant with appreciable energy. This reduces the risk that a bullet may endanger innocent people beyond the assailant, and ensures that all the bullet""s kinetic energy is transferred to the targeted assailant.
While effective in many respects, hollow point bullets have several disadvantages. First, the hollow point geometry can generate feeding problems in a self loading firearm. Such bullets have a forward end with a circular rim having a relatively sharp edge that surrounds the hollow cavity in the bullet nose. This leading edge provides a very small point of contact with surfaces over which it must slide during feeding and loading (e.g. feed ramps). This generates higher pressures at the contact point, and can lead to failures to feed if there are irregularities on the surfaces over which the bullet nose must slide.
A second disadvantage of hollow point bullets is that they have a lower ballistic coefficient compared to ball ammunition, because the unstreamlined hollow point generates more air resistance during flight. This reduces the energy of the bullet down range, reducing the incapacitating effect compared to higher velocity strikes. In addition, for longer distance shots, the velocity reduction leads to more bullet drop due to the effects of gravity during its flight, requiring greater elevation compensation by the shooter, and potentially introducing inaccuracies.
A third disadvantage of hollow point bullets is their performance on heavily clothed targets, or those behind light cover. Upon striking an assailant wearing heavy layers of denim and or leather, the hollow point cavity may be clogged with pieces of the material, and thus perform more like a ball bullet upon reaching tissue, and fail to expand adequately. In other instances, the clothing layers may generate premature expansion that transfers excessive energy to the clothing. Consequently, the bullet may not adequately penetrate tissue with adequate energy. Similarly, a hollow point bullet that expands upon contact with light cover material such as automotive panels or glass may undesirably lose excessive energy due to premature expansion before striking the tissue of the target.
The present invention overcomes the limitations of the prior art by providing a bullet. The bullet has a core with a leading end defining a cavity. A jacket surrounds the core and exposes the cavity. A nose element is at least partly received within the cavity. The nose element may be a plastic ball with an exposed nose surface that smoothly transitions to an adjacent portion of the jacket. The cavity may be a conically tapered cavity, and the nose element may enclose a chamber portion of the cavity. The core is formed of a ductile material, and may be a soft lead material of high purity.